


Seek and Ye Shall Find

by hergan416



Category: One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Jou is a juggalo, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, Rating May Change, Tags added as they appear, Violetshipping, fighting might be starting to get more graphic now, fighting will involve blood but not be worse than one piece source material, in progress, puppyshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:21:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23736040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hergan416/pseuds/hergan416
Summary: The first thing Seto Kaiba noticed was the man’s height. Kaiba was used to being the tallest person in the room, but this man towered over him. So much so, that were they not in the Kaiba Dome, he doubted the man would be able to stand upright. The second, was the man’s choice in clothing and hair style, and he felt waves of nostalgia wash over him at the punkish look and dyed hair. Of course, his resulting facial expression was a frown.“Who are you?”“My name is Katakuri Charlotte, of the Big Mom pirates. Where am I?”--Or: an anomaly in Brulee's mirror world brings Katakuri to Domino, Japan in search of technology to please his mother.
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto
Comments: 11
Kudos: 19





	1. First Contact

**Author's Note:**

> Instead of finishing any of my drafts having to do with stuff that I've already published, I instead am starting something new. This will be a multi-chapter fic, and I have a number of plans for it.
> 
> Enjoy as I indulge in making my favorite characters interact with each other and see what comes of it.
> 
> Note that while the fighting in this chapter isn't remarkable for One Piece, it is quite a bit more violent than even the unedited sub of Yugioh.

Atem was so happy he’d finally found a way to at least _view_ what was happening back in Domino. Rather than getting surprised by the Gods’ future requests at world-saving, he could keep an eye on things from the afterlife. It’s not like he could transport himself to Domino without the Gods’ help, so it was more a way to keep an eye on things in the meantime. The Kaiba Dome seemed the best place for the mirror into the realm of the living; after all, Seto Kaiba now seemed the center of all the trouble.

Atem sighed, remembering how _surprised_ he had been when Kaiba had managed to invent a way to not only _show up_ in the afterlife, but to _win_ _a duel._ He was glad that seemed to be the end of it for now, because Seto Kaiba certainly did not (yet) belong in the realm of the dead.

"Great work, Mahad," Atem congratulated, as he peered through the glass at the empty room before him. "I appreciate all the time you have put into this spell."

Mahad nodded solemnly. "If anyone else had asked, I would not have defied the Gods in such ways," he murmured. "But I owe everything to you, My Friend."

Atem smiled, wrapped his arm around Mahad's shoulders, and led him away from the mirror. "I appreciate it," he stated, knowing that if this _was_ considered an affront to the Gods, he would take all responsibility to protect his best friend and trusted advisor. "Let's go."

* * *

It was a strange mission. A new mirror had popped up in Brulee’s mirror world, and it showed some _very_ interesting things. Videos being played without transponder snails. Videos that appeared in _all three dimensions_. A stadium full of people watching a pair of people control fighters that were bound to playing cards. Dragons… _giants._ Of course, Big Mom wanted to have a part of it, and of course she sent her most trusted son to investigate.

Katakuri stepped through the new mirror, holding the ornate gold folding mirror Brulee had gifted him tight in his pocketed right hand. He was afraid of the consequences of going through a mirror that had never existed until now and showed such miraculous things. Was it Dr. Vagapunk? Would he be caught by the government? He didn’t know how long the original mirror would remain in place, so he hoped that bringing another would reduce his chances of becoming stranded if it turned out the new part of the world was hostile. 

Dr. Vagapunk, while perhaps technologically capable of creating the arena, seemed a far-fetched answer. His governmental funding would not allow him to focus on something so frivolous, Katakuri thought. Still, Katakuri had chosen a time the arena seemed empty, hoping that his presence in the arena would pass unnoticed until he could figure out who and what was behind the technological wonder-house. He stood on high alert as he monitored his surroundings.

Unfortunately for Katakuri, security systems in Domino, Japan do not rely on transponder snails, and thus can be shrunk to much more subtle sizes. The moment he stepped from the mirror, his overly-tall presence was immediately noted in the security room of Kaiba Corporation HQ. 

“Boss, look at this,” a man dressed in a light blue security uniform with the name “Andres” patched on his left breast-pocket reported, pointing to the screen in amazement. His half-eaten donut remained locked in place halfway along it’s previous trajectory towards his mouth. His superior turned to face the monitor and likewise, his coffee cup stalled on it’s way towards his mouth. “He climbed from that mirror,” Andres stated. “Rewind it if you don’t believe me.”

The superior’s eyes bugged out, but the fact that the man’s head already reached nearly to the roof of the Kaiba Dome (and he was still _proportional_ in spite of his height) was already enough of a worry. “Did Master Kaiba schedule any new hologram testing?” The superior asked, collecting himself enough to resume drinking his coffee.

Immediately the team began searching for clues. It was a logical explanation, of course. Except that there was nothing announced, and calling Master Kaiba’s secretary didn’t produce any information either. Andres found himself checking the date, hoping that perhaps he’d forgotten it was April Fool’s Day and that Mokuba was playing a prank. It wasn’t. 

“Call the boss,” his superior announced, and Andres felt his blood run cold. The job of alerting Seto Kaiba _himself_ had been passed off on him as the one who noticed the disturbance. He hoped that it _was_ real now, so that he could keep his job.

The line rang twice before the CEO picked up the phone. “What?”

“Master Kaiba Sir, this is Security,” Andres began nervously, rushing the words slightly, “There is an unknown presence or hologram in the Kaiba Dome.”

He could practically feel the CEO prickling at the news. “How did they get there?” the man demanded, fingertips rapidly hitting keys on his keyboard in the background.

“He… appeared to have climbed through a mirror,” Andres said, sounding aghast at having to tell his boss such nonsense.

“Ah. That he did,” Kaiba replied, having, evidently, pulled up the feed himself. Andres allowed himself a slight exhale of relief. “I will investigate.”

Andres opened his mouth to reply, only to realize he was now listening to a dial-tone. “Yes…. sir,” he trailed, hanging up the phone carefully before turning back to his boss, relief evident in his eyes.

“Good work,” the boss congratulated, and Andres had to agree.

* * *

Kaiba marched down the hallway towards the Kaiba Dome, his long legs carrying him faster than any of his other employees, who either lacked the fire or the height to keep up with him, usually both. Luckily, as the CEO on the lower levels of the company, his presence stood out, and people stayed well out of his way as he continued his race to see what was going on.

He continued to monitor the presence of the other person on his tablet, curious about their intentions. Where did they come from? Who was behind him? What did they want to steal? Was this image the front for a larger threat? Who’s holographic technology was being used? If he was being ambushed by someone who modified _his own_ technology to bypass the tracking information, he would be _upset._

The figure didn’t seem to be doing anything too troubling. He was observing the Kaiba Dome carefully, but his face spoke more towards wonder than towards cataloging weaknesses. Kaiba of course knew that a face could hide many intentions, and wasn’t about to trust an expression that could just as easily been programmed into the hologram to hide its true intentions. He needed to know the purpose behind the after-hours breach of the area, quickly.

He finally arrived at the Kaiba Dome entrance, and threw open the doors, marching in confidently. The first thing Seto Kaiba noticed was the man’s height. Of course, the fact that the man was over twice as tall as an average person had been apparent on the video feed, but seeing it _in person_ was a bit awe-inspiring. Kaiba was, understandably, used to being the tallest person in the room, but this man _towered_ over him by nearly ten feet. So much so, that were they not in the Kaiba Dome, he doubted the man would be able to stand upright. It was a little disconcerting, but Kaiba’s posture didn’t falter, and he looked up at the man confidently, giving him a quick once-over before speaking.

Of course, the once-over led to him noticing the second notable fact about the man: his chosen clothing and style. He had dyed his hair bright pink and wore a light pink feather boa over his mouth and neck. One might expect this to create a soft, feminine look, but instead the colors clashed with a combination of predatory gold eyes, a single ear piercing, and _spiked leather everywhere._ The man managed to use the color pink and still scream ‘danger.’ Kaiba felt waves of nostalgia wash over him, feeling Atem would certainly appreciate the look. Of course, his resulting facial expression was a frown.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Katakuri Charlotte, of the Big Mom pirates. Where am I?"

Seto Kaiba was not expecting this response and _almost_ was caught with his mouth hanging open in surprise. Instead, he shut it quickly enough to look only _momentarily_ like a blubbering fish. That of course was a moment too many, which in turn incited Seto Kaiba's wrath.

" _Pirates?!?_ " he exclaimed disbelievingly. " _Pirates_ are trying to steal my technology? I doubt it. Who are you _really?_ Who do you work for?"

The man seemed confused before Kaiba opened his mouth, which though bizarre, was potentially a flaw of the hologram's programming, since it was entirely possible this was the designer's predicted response. While logical, this thought was of little comfort to Seto, who didn't like the idea of being read so well by an opponent. Only _Atem_ could have that honor.

"I work for my mother, Linlin Charlotte, one of the four Yonkos--Emperors of the Sea," the 'Katakuri' hologram replied. "Surely you know of her infamy, and my own. I will not ask you again. Where am I?" The last line was emphasized as a threat, accompanied by the outline of the hologram glowing red. The man's eyes narrowed, clearly expecting the cheap parlor trick to work. Kaiba wouldn't be fooled.

"You're just a hologram, why should I listen to you, especially when you speak such nonsense? If these Emperors of the Sea were so great, _I_ would know them already." Kaiba scoffed, noting the surprise on the other man's face at his behavior. This angered Kaiba more, since the man's controller had made themselves seem a worthy opponent for a moment simply by a lucky guess. How could they think that he would take some unknown entity with a made-up grand title seriously? He had never behaved in such a way in his life! "Your monster design is intriguing, but Pegasus is the one to release new cards, not me. _You’re_ not worth my time." Kaiba turned to walk away.

As soon as his back was turned, his sneer fell into actual surprise as he was plucked by the shirt collar into mid-air and turned to face the hologram. His eyes widened in shock. How was a hologram doing this? His solid vision could produce the sensation of forces, but couldn't actually exert them! How was this possible? Kaiba almost missed the hologram's next line of questioning in his astonishment.

"What is a hologram?" the figure asked with troubling sincerity. The word was even pronounced carefully like it was being used for the first time. "Is that what the monsters bound to the cards are called?"

Kaiba realized now that the technological backwardness could indicate this man had a connection to the nonsense with Atem. His visit to the afterlife had been meant to put that behind him! He could feel his fists clenching in anger.

"Of course that's what they're called! If you are about to tell me you are an ancient Egyptian spirit on a fucking mission, I swear to fucking God …" The words were tense, spat between clenched teeth. "You even fucking dress like him!"

"E-gypt-ian?" the hologram repeated back, still confused. "And _who_ has copied my style of dress?" That last statement sounded angry too. This was going nowhere.

Kaiba by now, had decided he couldn't deal with the hologram alone. He had engaged it like a person, and turned his back on it without looking for its power source. He had made at least two fatal errors. The good news was that he had a security force that almost certainly would be here soon.

"From Egypt. Egyptian," Kaiba repeated, still annoyed but stalling. "The card game is from there. Some people use that fact to evoke unbelievable mysticism." He accompanied _that_ statement with an eye roll.

"Which sea is the Isle of Egypt in?"

God this was annoying. "Not an island. It's on the continent of Africa."

"Continent?"

How did this person even exist? "Big land masses? Seven of them?" So _stupid._

Katakuri shook his head and Kaiba sighed. "How is your pathetic mother an 'Emperor' of _anything_ when you people have such a poor grasp on geography?" The security team should be here any minute now….

Angry noises sputtered from the hologram's mouth like he was offended by something and saw Kaiba as much less than equal. Kaiba opened his mouth to begin to attempt some sort of de-escalation to buy more time, but a slight vibration at his wrist alerted him that it was no longer necessary. 

"Let me go, you giant buffoon," Kaiba suddenly threatened, interrupting Katakuri's sputtering. He wiggled in Katakuri's grip, popping the button on his suit in order to slip out of it into a free fall.

He barely noticed the distracted look on Katakuri's face, or how quickly Katakuri’s hand moved to catch him, almost like the motion was pre-planned. Instead, he was distracted with attempting to figure out which security team member needed a raise for deciding to bring the prototyped Kaibaman suit. He was grateful that so far the suit seemed to be working, as it had barely managed to coat his body in nanobots before he was recaptured in Katakuri’s iron grip.

His vision was now augmented by the suit's video cameras, which helped check his human blind spots. Quickly, Kaiba became aware that Isono, his chief of security, was just behind him, holding the suit’s container open, facilitating the change in attire. _Good man._ Kaiba nodded in acknowledgement, ready to attempt a real fight.

"Squad one, look for an off switch. Squad two, attack the hologram directly, see if you make a difference," Kaiba instructed, gleeful at the prospect of testing his new armor.

In the meantime, he had failed to notice the hologram once more glowing red. As the squads moved to begin their work, the man once more put on the faux threatening face. What was weird was that the other men seemed to grow scared from it, most of them collapsing to the ground immediately. Isono was one of the few men to remain standing, but the "Katakuri" hologram intensified the action and everyone but Kaiba was incapacitated, most never having even drawn their tasers.

"If I really am no match for you," Katakuri drawled, and the words suddenly seemed dangerous to Kaiba, "then meet me head on. Don't hide behind lesser men, when the only one here that can withstand me is you."

“Fine,” Kaiba sneered in acknowledgment, the words feeding his ego. “Then prepare to be defeated!”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Kaiba accelerated in his suit, weaving towards the hologram, intent on finding its off switch and deactivating it. He needed to find what company was in charge of this disruption and put a stop to it. He didn’t get far. Almost like the hologram possessed some sort of precognition, it punched towards Kaiba’s trajectory at nearly the same time he chose it. Kaiba didn’t care, directing himself through the solid vision and towards the figure’s base, sure he’d find the programming somewhere on the floor. Unfortunately, simply believing a real thing is a hologram does not make it so.

Kaiba reeled upwards, hit hard in the face where he had accelerated into the punch, the impact forcing the nanobots forming the crest over his eyes to uselessly fall to the ground. Each nanobot involved in the visual display flickered on and off from it’s individual position on the ground before shutting down.

That wasn’t good. Neither was the blood streaming from Kaiba’s nose.

“Seriously?” he groaned, teeth gritting as he turned about for another spin.

Katakuri seemed unfazed and simply reacted again, once more finding Kaiba’s route almost before Kaiba did, and quickly knocking the other man out of the air. The rush of air out of his lungs and he crumpled to the ground nearly drowned out the sound of Katakuri’s musings. “I was thinking that you might be Germa based on your suit’s flight, but you aren’t nearly strong enough to be one of their super soldiers.”

Kaiba wanted to reply that this was all nonsense, but he could barely breathe, let alone talk. He had to find the off switch and fast. How did solid vision get so… solid? He stayed down, scanning the floor for anything at all that could be controlling the man. Unfortunately, he was still at a loss.

The hologram continued to drone on. “I’m sure you’ve noticed by now our pure power differentials. I hope you are smart enough to know you can’t beat me. You have some control here, it’s obvious. But none of this is your own invention. As you said, it was created by those E-gyptians and the Pegasus. I _will_ find them and make it my own. The only question is whether you live to guide me in that pursuit.”

Not his? _Stolen_? His own creations, _disbelieved_. Kaiba’s blood _boiled._ “I don’t know who the _fuck_ you think you are talking to, but that washed up _hack_ would _never_ have brought duel monsters to where it is without _my inventions._ ” He pushed the button on his suit to direct all power from the nearby circuitry to the prototype, hoping that the untested technology would perform.

As the lights dropped, it did, swirling around him to create new armor, complete with night vision to deal with the sudden power outage. His voice boomed, amplified by the surge of power running through the systems surrounding his body, “Even _you,_ **_must_** be derived from my solid vision technology, or else you couldn’t structurally exist.”

He knew that expecting the man to be powered off his own electrical grid would be a long shot, but he had somewhat hoped that the confrontation would end there. His nose and chest _ached_ from the two blows he’d already taken. Whether he was trained in combat and had armor or not, he wasn’t built to sustain multiple blows. Still, the darkness would hopefully give him an advantage over the hologram’s controller.

He set his suit to scan for electrical impulses in the area. With everything turned off, it would be much easier to find the controller and eliminate it. In the meantime, he began his next series of attacks.

They were easily deflected, blocked by a hand that again seemed almost precognitive with it’s predictions of his flight path, knowing not only where he’d attempt to attack, but how he would dodge and how to catch up with him when he did so. “So what _do_ you do?” Katakuri asked, as though making small talk during battle was normal. 

“I can’t _believe_ that you have this little understanding of this world,” Kaiba complained back, refusing to be goaded into answering the question. The results of his scan should soon be in. He would know how to turn off the program, and it would all be over. “Whoever programmed you must be an _idiot._ ”

“World?” Katakuri said, pausing his motions as though he had just had a thought. “Wait, could this be a different _world?_ ” 

Kaiba _would_ have scoffed at the notion, had a green box with a check mark not popped up in the bottom right corner of his vision, distracting him. _Scan complete. No power sources detected._

Great. Cloaking technology. _Advanced_ cloaking technology.

“EMP,” Kaiba said aloud, activating the last known tool he possessed to deal with the rogue program. He watched Katakuri tilt his head in confusion as the EMP went off, disabling his suit, and any other electronic device in the region with it. Everything went black and silent. Kaiba sighed in relief, beginning to pick himself back up to walk towards the door, knowing he’d only have a limited time to escape before the EMP would stop working and the program would restart.

  
“Why would you use an attack that removed the last of your protection from me?” Katakuri asked. The sound startled Kaiba, whose sidestep landed him in the waiting hand of his enemy. “You _really_ have no idea who I am, do you?” Katakuri smiled to the darkness, lifting Kaiba to eye level, that same red outline _gleaming_ in predatory eyes, providing illumination to the room. Kaiba felt cold dread wash over him as he realized his assumptions about the source of the threat had led to his downfall. This man was _real._


	2. Emergency Defense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hand around his throat tightened, and Seto could feel his awareness blurring at the edges. He kicked his feet blindly in front of him, hoping to connect and break free, but like every other desperate gamble tonight, nothing connected. Without power, the microbot suit failed, the pieces raining to the ground uselessly, and Kaiba tried to make a noise to protest, but it was weak and barely audible. With the last of his strength, he began to attempt to pry the giant’s fingers off his throat, but he knew deep down he wasn't strong enough.
> 
> _“Why?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some starts to building relationships--which I hope to explore more fully later. We see basically everyone that's relevant on the Domino side of things in this one, except Katakuri. I'll get to him more next chapter.

Jounouchi had grown up in a lot of ways since high school, but his taste in music was not one of them. A holdover from his gang days that even Yugi’s friendship hadn’t totally erased, Jounouchi knew that his music was hardly popular among mainstream audiences. But that was, in some sense, part of its draw. Currently, he was driving one of Seto’s ferraris on a private course, blasting his most recent mixtape through the souped-up stereo system that he’d installed with Honda’s help.

Jou sped along the track, rapping along with Monoxide at the top of his lungs.

 _So many people in the matrix die alone hey,  
_ _Not me, my soul belongs to Juggalos they,|  
_ _Keep me going when I’m, down and out  
_ _I pick the phone up, drop ‘em a line and hear ‘em shout  
_ _Sayin’ Twiztid is the shit, and I’m down with the clown,  
_ _Dark Lotus for life, until I’m dead in the ground.  
_ _I give a depth to all my homies and killas who get it started  
_ _All my Juggalos, always represent for the departed!_

His volume didn’t decrease on the chorus

 _Mass murder makes me happy!  
_ _Dead bodies make me happy!  
_ _Until eternity,  
_ _I’ll always have Juggalo family!  
_ _Mass murder --_

The song was interrupted by a loud, obnoxious tone coming from Jou’s phone. Jou slammed on the brakes, skidding the car, furious at whichever Kaiba brother had changed the ringtone from it’s normal default to “Who Let the Dogs Out.” He didn’t _need_ that shit ruining his drive time. He cranked the volume on Dark Lotus to drown out the ringtone until the car finally halted nearly halfway down the track, answering the phone and turning off the stereo in the same fluid motion.

“‘Ello” he answered, not bothering with formality, despite the phone call coming from Kaiba Corp security.

“Kaiba Corp security, who am I speaking to?”

“It’s Jou, like you called,” he rolled his eyes at the stiffness of Kaiba’s company. He didn’t understand how Seto didn’t immediately suffocate in the presence of these corporate stiffs.

The security guard, undeterred, continued in his monotone, “This is an alert that Master Kaiba has activated the prototype Kaibaman suit, per Master Kaiba’s wishes.”

“Wait, hold on, what?” Jou answered, wondering what was going on. “That wasn’t scheduled for a couple o’ days!”

“The code on the alert says ‘emergency defense,’” the guard provided unhelpfully.

“Emergency defense? Emergency defense against what?” Jou demanded, voice growing heated, immediately forgetting his anger at whomever’s idea of a good April Fool’s Day included changing his ringtone and instead beginning to panic. Seto had a lot of enemies.

“Authorization Juliet kilo dash six zero Yankee seven zero Yankee,” Jou added quickly. It had taken him forever to memorize the long string of letters and numbers, but after not knowing what was up with Seto when he decided to travel to the literal afterlife without so much as a goodbye, Jou had eventually decided that playing along with Kaiba’s idea of security was worth the extra trouble.

“Full report now available,” the security guard replied and Jounouchi rolled his eyes. “A hologram or entity of unknown origin appeared in the Kaiba Dome and Master Kaiba used the suit as he investigated. Before the security feed cut out, there was an altercation, in which Master Kaiba activated the suit.”

Well _fuck._ That sounded _serious_. “What did the entity look like?” Jou asked, curious.

“A giant man, with pink hair and a feather scarf, no shirt, some sort of tattoo, and leather pants,” the security guard replied. “He appeared to come from a mirror.”

“Jeepers!” Jou exclaimed, a little unsettled. _It’s not a ghost, we’re all done with ghosts,_ he reminded himself, his breathing calming. “I’ll be over soon.” He hung up the phone before the security guard could object, restarting the music and punching the gas, speeding towards actual roads so that he could return to Domino.

* * *

Mokuba was at his desk when he received the call. “Kaiba Corp, you’ve reached Vice President Mokuba Kaiba,” he answered, as he’d been trained.

“Security, calling on behalf of your brother,” the man on the other end replied. “This is an alert that Master Kaiba has activated the prototype Kaibaman suit.”

Mokuba frowned. “Wasn’t the test scheduled for next Monday? KM-646Y6R0.” he asked, adding his personal identification quickly. He hated being known as ‘baby bro’ still, but the number Seto assigned him when he was ten stuck, despite now being over twenty. Also, it wasn’t like the security guards were fluent in 1337.

“Yes, Mokuba sir. The code on the alert says ‘emergency defense.’ There was a disturbance in the Kaiba Dome which Master Kaiba decided to personally investigate. During the investigation, the other entity became hostile, and Master Kaiba activated the suit in order to defend himself. Currently security cameras are dark, but Master Kaiba activated an EMP, presumably because the threat was a malicious program of some sort.”

“If it’s a program, I’m sure my brother has it covered. Thank you for the alert,” Mokuba replied, dismissing the security officer with a polite, “Anything else?”

“No Master Mokuba sir,” the man replied.

“Thank you for your call.”

Mokuba hung up the phone and sighed, rubbing his temples. He supposed he should do an extra scan of his office today, in case there were any listening devices security had missed.

* * *

Seto struggled against the strong hand that held him, but knew it was pointless. Darkness surrounded him, the entire arena powered down by his own lack of foresight. His gamble hadn’t paid off. It never did; it was why he berated Katsuya for his choice in duel monsters cards so much in the beginning. He had never been able to rely on luck the same way that others had, and felt it unreasonable to expect anything good to come of chance.

Now, in the dark against the unknown and unseen enemy, all he could do was survive his mistakes and learn from them. His daily reminder that the world was cruel, whatever mark he tried to make on it. First Gozoboro, then Atem, and Pegasus and Von Shroeder and Dartz, and now this monstrosity. It didn’t matter that Gozoboro was gone or that Kats had improved as a duelist and he could duel him now, or that he _usually_ could best security breaches easily. He still _failed. Again._

The hand around his throat tightened, and Seto could feel his awareness blurring at the edges. He kicked his feet blindly in front of him, hoping to connect and break free, but like every other desperate gamble tonight, nothing connected. Without power, the microbot suit failed, the pieces raining to the ground uselessly, and Kaiba tried to make a noise to protest, but it was weak and barely audible. With the last of his strength, he began to attempt to pry the giant’s fingers off his throat, but he knew deep down he wasn't strong enough.

“ _Why?”_

* * *

Atem wandered into the courtyard, glancing into the mirror that Mahad had set up into the Kaiba Dome. He glanced at the dark surface of the mirror, daydreaming about night time in Domino and what Seto was up to in life. He wondered, briefly, traitorously, what it would be like if he had not returned to the afterlife, and instead had been allowed to remain in the land of the living for a bit longer.

Images from Seto’s arrival on the Egyptian sands flared before his eyes, and he rushed to shove the longing away as he re-processed the information. The technology Seto had invented in the year between Atem’s arrival in paradise and Seto’s was astounding. Seto always had a corner on innovation, but Atem was impressed it had taken him so little time to dream up a way to travel between dimensions. As Yugi and the others graduated high school and began to _think_ of dreaming for themselves, Seto made his dreams reality, crashing into the desert sands after just one aborted attempt.

Atem knew that Seto’s presence on the sands, as welcome as it felt, would also be wrought with complications were Seto to stay too long. Atem wouldn’t deny the man his hard earned duel, however. He answered Seto’s call to battle by calling forth his diadhank, facing the challenge head on.

Atem had forgotten how _enjoyable_ dueling Seto was. How sparks flew across the battlefield, how their duelist’s spirits would tangle and clash over the ebb and flow of the duel. How breathtaking Seto looked as he summoned his dragon, how much wit it took to keep up with Seto’s banter.

When the results were in, Seto seemed astounded at his own victory. His mouth gaped open, and he stood in Atem’s hall, dumbfounded. “That...I won,” he said, finally closing his mouth and straightening his shoulders. “I won! You _must_ respect me now, Pharaoh!”

Atem ignored the obvious implications of the statement as he forced himself to think of the consequences of a prolonged stay. He needed to end this now, and unfortunately hurting Kaiba was the only sure way to get him to go home. “Have you gotten what you came for?” he asked dismissively, his own tone making his heart clench unbearably inside. Seto’s face snapped to Atem’s, who focused on maintaining the same, bored expression. 

“I suppose I have,” he answered stiffly. And like that, the sparks of their duel disappeared. Coldness hardened Seto’s eyes, and he activated his suit, disappearing instantaneously from the palace. The next day Atem approached Mahad about the mirror.

It had been two days since Mahad had _finally_ figured out a way to spy on the KaibaDome. Atem had glanced through the mirror frequently since then, but had seen nothing. He wished that he could catch a glimpse of Kaiba dueling, or doing anything at all, but the room had been empty yesterday, and was dark today.

Wait. The lights were turning on! It must be morning!

Atem peered at the mirror closely before realizing that the lights were out for some totally unrelated reason. The scene before him was horrifying: a monstrous man, absolutely real, and _terrifying,_ had Kaiba in a chokehold. Kaiba's body looked lifeless, slumped in the man's hands, yet still Seto was held by the throat, mercilessly being robbed of life.

It was unjust. Unfair. Atem _had_ to intervene.

He summoned all the power he had and rushed through the mirror--gods' plans be damned. He reached out and borrowed the entire Pharaoh's portion of Ra's energy that he had access to, transforming nearly fully into a firey golden phoenix. He felt for the arena, willing his presence there with all his might, hoping he could be strong enough to do what only the Gods had allowed him to do before.

* * *

As Jounouchi finally arrived, running full speed at the KaibaDome and rushing towards the doors to the stadium, the lights in the area had just begun to turn back on. He sprinted past the new team of security guards that were debating their approach in the hallway, carelessly bull rushing the doors in his desperation, unwilling to allow Seto to face whatever enemy he had made this time alone.

He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that between what Atem had done and Seto's past, danger was something his partner would dive headfirst into without caring about the consequences, physical or mental. Jounouchi was much the same in that regard, but better knew his limits--even if he would disregard them if it came to saving the life of someone he cared about.

The lights to the stadium flickered to life as soon as the doors were slammed open, revealing the eerie scene before him. The monster, or whatever it was, held Kaiba's limp form several feet above the floor in a choke. The pieces of the Kaibaman suit scattered uselessly on the floor around his body, no longer responsive to the unconscious man's thoughts. Without thinking, Jounouchi flicked his wrist, activating the wristband Seto had given for "if things get dire."

The bots whirred to life, forming a protective suit around Jounouchi as he charged the monster head-on.

Jounouchi willed himself to fly towards the target and the nanobots delivered, moving him quickly towards the man. It was odd, the man looked up and seemed to predict the punch before it happened, moving to block the aerial maneuver before it had finished. Jounouchi planned on changing courses at the last minute, and there must have been some shift in his posture, because the defended position continued to shift as Jounouchi’s thoughts raced. No wonder Seto had lost. This was impossible!

Then, suddenly, at the last minute, the man’s defenses dropped and he dropped Seto, his eyes rooted on Jounouchi in apparent shock. Jounouchi felt a familiar golden light encompassing his form, although it was unfamiliar for him to call Ra an ally. The last time he’d felt surrounded by the powerful monster, he had nearly died. Now, instead, he was augmented by its power and strength. His punch connected with Katakuri, his actions magnified by the combination of the suit’s and the god’s energy.

The punch connected unblocked and the large man crumpled easily, falling backwards and away from Seto’s body. Jounouchi thought he could catch a faint whisper of a word from the now unconscious giant, which hardly made any sense: _“Marco?”_

Jounouchi paid the words no mind, instead quickly landing on the ground and willing the nanobots away from his face as he checked on Seto. He hardly even noticed the _god’s_ disappearance in his rush to see if Seto was ok.

* * *

When he awoke, it was to Kats' worried face hovering over his field of vision, backlit by the bright overhead lights of the KaibaDome. A medical team surrounded him, and it looked like the (very real) man was going to be waking up securely handcuffed. Seto exhaled. He had somehow managed to live. 

He tried to get up, but found himself weaker than he thought, and ended up failing halfway, coughing as he tried to catch his breath. A worried arm stabilized him, grip solid and steady. Seto’s head swam, so he focused his attention on the arm, his hand unsteadily reaching to hold it.

“Hold on there!” Kats called, and the voice echoed around Seto’s consciousness. “Don’t push yourself too far, the team hasn’t even completed the first …” Seto could no longer concentrate on the words and found himself bringing his hands to his ears to try to stop the ringing. From here he could no longer sit up, and decided to lay down.

“Doc… doc…” he knew there were commands, some sort of call to action in the words, but Seto wasn’t able to understand them. The floor seemed rather comfortable. Maybe he’d just take a quick nap? He reached to give Kats’ hand a quick squeeze, but missed completely, his arm falling to the hard floor with a bounce. Seto frowned, the pain waking him up slightly.

“H--” he couldn’t finish the word. His throat _burned_ and he just twitched his fingers helplessly. Kats seemed to get the message though, because their hands entwined just in time for Seto to give the hand a quick squeeze. He smiled weekly at Kats, who smiled back down at him.

There were so many lights. So much conversation. None of it made sense. The world blurred at the edges and slowly the pain in his hand recessed, and Seto felt the floor grow comfortable again. Soon, he was fast asleep, what felt to be a goofy smile on his face as he held Kats’ hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to nenya85 -- First of all, if you like prideshipping and haven't checked out her newest fic "A River In Egypt" you really should. Her storytelling is excellent, and the Dark Side of Dimensions film finally exists for this iteration of her post-canon pride. In chapter 16, she used an analogy to the sun regarding Atem that reminded me that the god Ra is also the god of the Pharaohs. I was in the middle of writing this, and asked if I could draw on this memory, and she said yes! _Finally,_ I had a believable way for Katakuri to actually lose! I can't very well have a story about Kaiba and Katakuri interacting if one of them dies right away, can I?
> 
> Also--what do a sun god dragon and a blue eyes white dragon nanobot suit combine to make? If a flaming blue bird is your answer, you might be right. I have the feeling there is going to be a side of Katamar in this fic. ‾\\_o_/‾
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! I have even more plans going forward, so I hope you stick around for them! As always, if you enjoyed the fic or have feedback to leave, please drop a comment! I love hearing from you.
> 
> I forgot to attribute the song Jou is singing! It's "Juggalo Family" by Dark Lotus (the ABK version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsWcgUOYVYs


	3. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many thank yous for this one!
> 
> First: Crayon, thank you so much for letting me bounce ideas about Kata off you. I don't think this chapter would look the same without you. From helping me name the donut chef to making me realize that processing Katakuri before he's admitted into jail is interesting, you've absolutely helped so much.
> 
> Similary, OG, thank you for helping me with the violetshipping sections. Specifically, thank you for helping me name Jou's charity, and looking over the chapter, even though One Piece is not your fandom.
> 
> I have borrowed an idea that was brought up on the onepiecescience blog on tumblr about gravity differentials between the world of One Piece and this one and whether could explain how large things get there. I unfortunately didn't save the post, but everyone should go check out the blog, it's awesome.

Katakuri was still conscious when the weak-minded underlings of “Master Kaiba” began to attempt to handcuff him. He could have extended his conqueror’s haki, if he so chose, but decided to allow himself to be restrained. Partially, it was curiosity, partially the fact that he foresaw no weakening of his powers as a result of the handcuffs, partially it was exhaustion. Now that he had sat for a few minutes, he was beginning to feel as though he weighed more than he remembered weighing on the other side of the mirror.

As he remained handcuffed and forgotten, all attention returned to Kaiba’s medical care. The medics whispered amongst themselves, seeming perplexed by how best to treat his opponent. Katakuri tuned out their chatter, beginning to piece together evidence that he may have actually travelled to a different dimension. 

Based on the few snippets of conversation he’d already overheard, and the information that Kaiba had given him as they fought, Kaiba seemed rich and powerful, the owner of some kind of technology empire. It was clear he was getting the best medical care available to a person, but that care looked different from what could be expected at home. Most of it seemed archaic, and certainly involved no devil fruit abilities that would speed recovery, something one might have expected of a man of similar stature back home.

Further, if Kaiba was so rich and powerful, it seemed unthinkable that he wouldn’t have seastone handcuffs available, if such a thing existed for him. Yet, here Katakuri was, an obvious devil fruit user, handcuffed normally, as though he had no powers to speak of.

Then, there was the way Kaiba talked about the geography of the world. It sounded like instead of tiny islands dotting the entire globe, there were several big land masses called continents. There might even be parts of the world where you could go and have no danger of even encountering the sea--a devil fruit user’s dream.

Kaiba even seemed surprised by Katakuri's height, saying physics wouldn't allow it, as though it were inconceivable that a sixteen foot eight inch man could exist. He wasn't even _that_ tall, not compared to Mama, or the giants that she always fawned over.

He watched as the team of medics ultimately lifted his opponent up onto a stretcher and carried him out of the room, as though nothing further could be done here. Katakuri sighed. For being able to withstand conqueror’s haki, his opponent had turned out to be relatively weak. He wondered if generally fighters were less durable here, and that was why they made “holograms” fight their battles for them.

An argument was about to begin regarding what to do with Katakuri, now that Kaiba was out of the picture. It drew Katakuri’s attention away from his thoughts and back to the real world.

"He's too big to fit in a cop car, or a jail," one of the officers pointed out. Katakuri’s brain felt fuzzy, and the words echoed between real time and future sight. Coupled with the heavy feeling from this world, it made him feel nauseous, so he attempted to shut the reflex off. The world crashed back together, visible only once.

"Are we sure he isn't solid vision?" another guard replied.

"Master Kaiba could find no obvious source of power or off switch," the guard Kaiba had called ‘Isono’ interrupted. "Solid vision is unlikely at this point."

"Perhaps Pegasus would know more, as Kaiba Corp’s lead competitor?"

"You think Pegasus sicced this on us?" a younger guard interrupted.

The men began whispering among themselves. Pegasus was the thing that Kaiba said helped him with this technology. Perhaps it would prove an ally.

"Pegasus," Katakuri stated, drawing several pairs of shocked eyes to his face and silencing the room. He didn't finish the sentence, hoping to sound like a broken machine.

It worked. "We have to call him. Interrogate him. The machine seems to know him."

"What do we do with the machine in the meantime?"

The blond man who had turned into a flaming bird for a moment shouted at everyone. "Shut up! If he's talking, he can hear you."

"And what, transmit the data to Pegasus?"

"Or plan his next move!" the blond insisted. "He is a strong opponent, we need to get him away from here before there is more damage. And Seto would consider his information a priority, so stop talking about it."

The men grumbled, but seemed inclined to listen to the blond.

"I _know_ you have armored vehicles and holding cells made for more than one. Get them, and get him out of here." The man was clearly fed up. He muttered something under his breath, which the humans in the room seemed to ignore, but Katakuri could hear with his haki. "Use them in a _proportionate_ situation, not on poor teens that just want out."

The humans began to hustle, ending their idle chatter, and soon Katakuri was roughly hauled to his feet and led outside towards a waiting truck. It was an ugly color of green, and smelled even worse. The back of the truck had several seats for ‘regular’ sized people, but Katakuri wasn’t guided to a seat. Instead, due to his size, he simply was thrust into the space on the floor between them. He fell onto his side and curled his feet in so the heavy door could be latched behind him. The thick door swung shut and the mechanical lock creaked loudly as it was latched, blocking out the sunlight. The armored van lurched forward, beginning it's route to the jail.

* * *

_Seto glanced at the study packet disinterestedly. The board of directors had made yet another play to wrest control of Kaiba Corporation from him, this time by making a fuss over the fact he had dropped out of school to run the company, and thus didn't have a high school diploma. Forcing him to go back and get his GED when he could out-code AND out-engineer the majority of his staff was humiliating._

_A rap on the door interrupted his seething, and he tossed the packet aside. "Enter," he commanded, annoyance creeping into his voice._

_Mokuba peeked out through the door frame tepidly, blinking once. "Is it ok to interrupt you Seto?"_

_Seto's posture had already relaxed as soon as he saw it was his brother and not another threat to deal with. "Come in Mokuba," he replied softly, watching as the older teen closed the door quietly behind him. "I could use a distraction from this nonsense."_

_Mokuba laughed, amused. "How about a project I'd like to start?" he asked hopefully, eyes shining. Seto turned towards his brother intently, knowing there was passion behind whatever was about to be proposed. "I know we have already opened several iterations of KaibaLand, with free admission for kids," Mokuba began, eyes locked with Seto's, just as he'd been taught. Seto felt pride bubbling in his chest. "But KaibaLand only touches kids for a day or two. And while admission to the rides and attractions is all free, we still charge for food and drinks. If a kid is hungry coming into KaibaLand, they will still be hungry when they leave."_

_"I propose we start a new charitable fund, helping organizations that take care of kids lacking family and resources in the long term, not just for a day or two. We can give them the best toys, resources for healthy, good-tasting food, and oversight to prevent people like Sister Charity from having power over children.”_

_Seto had been nodding along, but he shuddered when Mokuba mentioned the nun’s name. While she now seemed tame compared to Gozoboro, she was still not someone he’d wish on any other child. “I like it,” he replied, smiling faintly at Mokuba. While he’d made several large one-off donations to the kinds of organizations Mokuba was suggesting, having a trust with dedicated funds that organizations could apply for was beyond the scope of anything he’d achieved so far. “I think it’s just what Kaiba Corporation needs.”_

_A sudden boost of inspiration hit him, as he realized there was yet another benefit to the plan. He grinned predatorily, showing off his teeth. “And the board of directors will hate it. Let me know if you need help with any of the legalese, or need to know where to pull money from. Let’s make this a unilateral decision that knocks them back two centuries.”_

_Mokuba grinned back at Seto. “Thanks big bro! I’ll get started right away!” he exclaimed. “Good luck on your test!” Seto scowled at that, but didn’t stay mad long, watching as Mokuba exited his office, unable to contain the bounce in his step. Seto allowed himself one last self-indulgent smile as the door closed shut, before returning to the dreaded study packet._

* * *

Jounouchi hooked up his phone to the ferrari’s bluetooth and called Mokuba as he left the Kaiba Corp parking lot. The kid deserved to know what happened from the mouth of someone who was there, and witnessed the end of it.

“Kaiba Corp, you’ve reached Vice President, Mokuba Kaiba.”

“Mokuba, has security talked to you at all yet?” he started, uncertain what, if anything, he already knew.

“No, why?” Mokuba asked, concern creeping into his voice.

“There was an intruder in the Kaiba Dome. Seto went to fight it with the prototype Kaibaman suit. He’s hurt, and no one really knows what happened, but the police have the guy now. Seto wasn’t looking good. As soon as he woke up, he tried to move and knocked himself unconscious again, so they stuck him in an ambulance. I’m driving to the hospital now, and I’ll meet up with him there, but I’m pretty sure he’s at least got a concussion, maybe some broken bones.”

“What?!” Mokuba’s voice pitched upwards in concern. “I need to come too.” 

“Seto’s gonna want to go to Kaiba Corp and work right away if you’re not there running it,” Jou pointed out. Jou knew Mokuba well enough to know the long pause was him frowning, unable to counter Jou’s argument. “He’s so fuckin’ stubborn.”

Mokuba sighed into the mouthpiece, causing the car’s stereo to crackle and pop. “Fine. But you should grab a book of Mad Libs or something if he’s concussed. I doubt he’ll be up to duel you, but you’re gonna need to keep him awake. He used to like them when we were little, so it might amuse him now.”

“Sure,” Jou replied, rerouting the car to stop by a bookstore on the way there.

“And tell him that I love him and he better not do anything stupid,” Mokuba added, voice forceful. “I mean it.”

“Sure thing,” Jou agreed readily. 

“Thank you,” Mokuba replied, sounding stressed.

“I’m sure he’ll be alright,” Jou reassured, exiting the freeway. “Take things easy there if you can, and I’ll send an update as soon as I know more.”

“Thanks,” Mokuba replied again, the emotion leaving his voice. Jou grimaced, but said nothing, knowing it was not the time to work on the fact that Mokuba idolized Seto’s bad habits.

“Call you soon,” Jou replied instead.

“Bye,” Mokuba dismissed, and the call ended.

* * *

_“We have to publicize it.”_

_It was the last reaction Kaiba had wanted to hear from his Board of Directors._

_“Who was the first grantee? We’ll just get the media to cover you handing them a very large check.”_

_Kaiba rolled his eyes. “Shouldn’t Mokuba do it? It’s his program. He deserves a chance at the spotlight too.”_

_“But you’re the face of Kaiba Corp, big bro!” Mokuba turned puppy eyes on his big brother. The fact that Mokuba felt he needed puppy eyes to acquire his cooperation was Seto’s first clue something was wrong._ _  
_ _  
_ _“What’s the catch?” he asked, narrowing his eyes even as he acquiesced. He could never deny his brother, no matter how bad an idea it seemed._

_“No catch,” Mokuba chirped, far too readily. There was definitely a catch. “The charity’s name is Heart of the Underdog. You’re already scheduled for tomorrow at noon.”_

_Kaiba exhaled and nodded. The name sounded a little familiar, but he couldn’t place why._

_“Fine,” he replied. “I’m sure the oversized check is available, and the media has been called?”_

_Mokuba simply nodded, looking overly proud of himself. Kaiba dreaded tomorrow already._

* * *

Katakuri had been quiet and still most of the car ride, thankful for the peace and quiet of the moment. Soon, however, a glimpse of the future incited action. He quickly lengthened his arm within the handcuffs, reaching into his pockets to find the mirror Brulee had gifted him. He clutched it in his hands, making room in his arm to store it as he shrunk his arm back to a normal size.

The door to the car opened, and natural light from the world outside momentarily blinded Katakuri, even though he knew it was coming. He squinted as guards dressed head to foot in some sort of black, puffy material pointed guns at him and ushered him out of the car. Clumsily, he attempted to slide out of the car without using his powers. He rolled over onto his back and tried to scoot forward as best he could, until his feet landed under him. He stood still, waiting, as two of the guards approached him and began to search him.

His pockets contained nothing of value. A small bag containing a few dozen donuts that Chef Julienne had baked for him before he left, a handful of Berri, which seemed to attract the humans’ attention as odd; two vivre cards, which despite having both Perospero’s and Brulee’s names on them seemed as unremarkable as slips of paper; a full-size transponder snail, which elicited a shriek from the clerical worker transcribing the information; and two log poses--one an eternal pose to Whole Cake Island, which seemed fixated on Katakuri for some reason, and an upgraded log pose for navigating the New World, it’s three compass needles inexplicably all pointing in the same direction. Katakuri noted this information, but said nothing as the items were stored in baggies and labeled. 

“No ID,” one of the guards grunted. A second later, the conversation actually started. Katakuri actively chose not to pay attention to what would happen next, so as to reduce the effect of the echo. He still wasn’t feeling the greatest, the world being as heavy as it was.

“This shit’s weird,” another replied. “What should we do with the snail?”

“We can’t just put it in a plastic bag,” a different guard agreed.

“Maybe we can let it go?”

“What’s your name?” asked the clerical worker, sounding bored. Katakuri snapped his attention to her, leaving the guards to argue about the fate of the (quite confused) transponder snail.

“Katakuri Charlotte,” Katakuri replied. If his name meant anything, the worker didn’t show it, simply writing the information down without comment.

“We don’t have a uniform in your _size,_ ” the clerical worker said, her eyes looking up and down to emphasize Katakuri’s height. “So we are going to have to make what you are wearing safe.” Katakuri nodded. Fair enough. Two guards that were not involved in sorting through his stuff moved forward and began to disrobe him. First it was the chain around his leg. Fine. Then his boots. Fair, he supposes. Then his spiked knee pads and his belt. The belt was a stretch, but his pants fit well enough to stay up without it. But then, Katakuri saw a worker reaching for his scarf. A sudden movement and he was yards away from where he’d been standing. 

He regretted the action immediately, feeling beads of sweat forming from the effort of it. He decided he needed to pay attention to what would happen; he didn’t want to have to expend that kind of effort again.

“No,” he asserted.

The guards didn’t give up, predictably training their guns on him. He heard the guns cock just before they actually did. Katakuri flashed his conqueror’s haki for the first time since his “defeat,” leveling the guards and the clerical worker. He knew more would come. They had to be watching this somehow.

As easy as it would have been at that moment, Katakuri didn’t run. Instead, he stood defiantly in the middle of the prison yard, waiting for the next wave of guards.

“The scarf stays,” Katakuri argued as soon as there were more humans around to hear. “Or I do not.”

The guards shared wary glances with each other, their weapons still trained on Katakuri. But, there seemed to be someone in charge with them, who simply nodded. “Ignore the scarf,” he commanded, and the guards relaxed. “This way,” he instructed. Katakuri was already moving forward to follow him.

In stocking feet, Katakuri was directed inside the prison. He had to duck to enter the building’s door, crouching to under half his height, but he managed it. He could still barely stand in the narrow hallway that followed, but luckily the cell they assigned him was not far away. Upon entry, the handcuffs around his wrists were released, and the door to the cell closed.

Despite the marginally larger size of the cell, Katakuri still felt cramped. It was built for two people living in close quarters: two twin beds not far from each other were the only furniture in the room, and the ceiling was so low that he could barely enter the cell while crouching. But, without the handcuffs, he was able to make his way to one of the twin beds, sitting on it gratefully. Finally, he could stretch out. He scooted back so that he could lean against the wall propping his feet against the bed on the opposite side of the room in order to stretch his legs. His hair still brushed the ceiling of the cell when he moved his head and his feet brushed the opposite wall, but it was better than the rest of the jail or the armored van had been. He could probably maintain the position for a few hours at least. Plenty of time to get some more information.

In the meantime, Katakuri anticipated nothing but waiting. He closed his eyes lightly, resting them until something important happened.

* * *

_Kaiba left KCHQ at eleven the next day, even though the charity’s address was not far from the building. Like hell he’d get there late, and he wanted to talk to the people there before giving whatever publicity speech he was sure he was supposed to deliver._

_Upon arriving, he found an unassuming new building with the picture of a boy and a dog framing it’s logo. As he entered the sliding glass doors, the scent of fresh paint hit his nose. The interior was brightly colored, with a large mural of several iconic duel monsters spanning two of it’s walls. The blond man at the front desk looked up._

_“Hello are you--” he trailed off as he glanced up and recognized Kaiba. Kaiba sneered at him, then began to laugh._

_“How’d you get a job at a place like this, mutt?” Kaiba antagonized, now realizing why Mokuba had pulled out all the stops to get him to arrive today._

_“Mr. Kaiba, I do appreciate all that your grant has done for my organization, but I will find a different source of funding and kick you off this property if I have to,” Jounouchi replied, his words carefully pronounced and practiced. Astounded at Jounouchi’s professionalism, Kaiba’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor._

_“Your organization? You mean…”_

_Jou smirked, seeming proud both of verbally one-upping Kaiba, and himself for the charity. “Yes. I founded Heart of the Underdog. We use duel monsters to help ‘vulnerable youth’ have alternatives to gang life.”_

_Kaiba glanced around. On the surface everything looked fine. But things always looked fine in these sorts of charities. His eyes narrowed. “You did agree to Kaiba Corporation’s oversight when you accepted our money,” he declared threateningly._

_“And I have nothing to fear as far as that is concerned,” Jou crossed his arms wearily. He seemed grown up, tired of fighting._

_“So you wouldn’t mind if I randomly came by to volunteer sometimes?” Kaiba countered._

_“Not at all,” Jou accepted, holding out a hand. “I’ve got paperwork that you’ll need to fill out first, of course. And you’ll need to consent to a background check.” Jou’s eyes sparkled mischievously, but Kaiba didn’t blame him for following standard procedure as far as the grant money was concerned._

_Jou pulled a small packet of information from a stand behind his desk and passed it to Kaiba. “Once you fill it out, I’ll schedule you for orientation. There’s a packet about our mission in there too.”_

_Kaiba, somehow, felt he’d been played once more. He accepted the papers with a roll of his eyes, pulling the packet about the mission statement out first. “Thanks. I’m going to look this over now, I will probably need to reference it in my speech.”_

_Jounouchi laughed quietly then gestured at the chairs in the lobby. “Be my guest,” he offered._

_Kaiba felt a headache coming on._

* * *

The pounding headache was getting worse, drawing him awake. Everything hurt… Something was calling him, pushing him awake. 

“Seto!” God his voice was still as grating as ever. And why was his voice so bright sounding?

“Seto!” Was he seriously trying to _shake_ him awake?  
  
“SETO!”

Blue eyes popped open to meet concerned amber. He found he was on his back, head turned to his right, where Kats sat in a red cloth chair, fidgeting. It seemed he had simply been waiting there, not talking or physically touching Seto. Seto frowned. Where did those sensations come from?

He turned his head upwards to stare at an unfamiliar tile ceiling, lit with fluorescent lights. He glanced around an unfamiliar room, trying to remember how he got here. He realized he felt slightly more comfortable than the last time he’d remembered opening his eyes. He patted the bed he lay on and realized with a start, that he’d been brought to a hospital. His left arm was hooked up to an IV, dripping some sort of medicine into his body, and his chest was tightly bandaged.

As soon as he seemed done analyzing where he was, Jou interrupted him. “Thank goodness you woke up quickly. Mokuba and I were so worried.”

“Go away,” Seto groaned, closing his eyes. It was still bright, so he started trying to move an arm over his face. Why did his limbs feel so heavy? “Your voice hurts.”

“No,” Kats replied. “Yah have a concussion. So I can’t. Now that you’re conscious, you’re gonna have to stay awake so that you don’t get brain damage.”

No wonder everything hurt. “Fuck,” Seto swore. “What about work?”

“Mokuba’s taking care of it. You’re stuck with me,” Kats replied, voice soft and caring.

“Don’t use your work voice on me,” Seto joked, smiling weakly and letting his arm fall the inch he’d managed to raise it back onto the bed.

“I’m not, I just care,” Kats argued, reaching to entwine their hands.

“Everyone has a business voice,” Seto responded, closing his hand around Kats’ at the contact. “This is exactly how you sound to your kids.”

“Maybe,” Kats replied. “But we both know that I don’t need my work voice for _them._ It’s the money people I need tah get all professional on.”

Seto found himself smiling broadly despite himself. He had no energy to hide his affection, and they seemed to be in a private place now anyways. Still, he had to question his mental faculties when the next thing that came out of his mouth, loopy smile still in place, was “Remind me again why I used to torment you?”

Kats looked taken aback, but then he grinned. “Want your answer, or my super professional opinion?” he joked.

Seto grunted, unwilling to comment on the conversation he’d unintentionally started.

“My best guess is that I reminded you of who you might have been,” Kats replied, suddenly serious. Seto stared at him for a moment, but the grin popped right back on his face. “Or that yah liked me.” Seto squeezed Kats’ hand at that.

“But… _you’d_ probably say because I was a ‘third rate duelist with a fourth rate deck.’” Kats mimicked Kaiba’s dueling voice and then burst out laughing.

“I _did_ say that to you, didn’t I?” Seto replied, grinning. It was a pretty funny insult, now that he thought about it. He closed his eyes, relishing the moment.

“Don’t fall asleep again,” Kats instructed, his voice interrupting the calm Seto had just found. “I don’t want to lose you.” Kats’ voice sounded scared, and it shocked Seto into opening his eyes back up again. Kats was usually the carefree one of the pair, while Seto was the worrywart.

Seto grunted again, downplaying the concern, hoping to settle Kats’ worries. But that only served to make Kats more agitated. “Mokuba is worried too. He threatened us both if you can’t stay awake,” he continued, and Seto exhaled, beat. "He said to tell you he loves you, by the way."

Seto exhaled, furrowing his brows. "What did you tell him to make him worried?" he asked, slight accusation in his voice.

Jou snorted. "The truth. You're a worrying person sometimes, Seto."

Seto opened his mouth to argue, but Jou interrupted him. "Security would have told him if I hadn't. He's the one they talk to in an emergency, and the whole security team was there."

Seto grunted his acknowledgment . “Fine. So what are we going to do to keep me from falling asleep while I have this pounding headache?” Seto asked, looking to Kats for suggestions. Perhaps Kats already had a plan. When Seto spied Kats’ free hand sneaking towards the pocket that contained his deck, however, Kaiba interrupted him. “I can’t duel right now,” he asserted.

Once Jou would have found that ironic, given how insistent Seto had been that the duels of Battle City continue, despite the physical danger involved. Considering that he’d been a victim of said dangers, he would have more than a right to be angry about the hypocrisy. But after all these years, he could recognize Seto’s admission as the sign of improvement that it was. While it was true that Seto cared little for others’ lives during Battle City, it was a symptom of how little he cared for his own life. Jou wasn’t about to take that away from Seto now. So he pulled his hand back and shrugged.  
  
“Mokuba suggested Mad Libs, so I stopped and grabbed one on the way here,” he suggested, uncertain if Seto would bite.

Seto surprised Jou by laughing. “I haven’t done one of those in years. Sure, let’s do it.”

Jou stared at Seto for a second before responding. “Uh, sure. Let me grab it.” Seto watched as he reached to his back pocket and pulled out a small flipbook entitled “Mad About Animals Mad Libs.”

“Awww you don’t have the fantasy one? Think it was called _Mermaids, Unicorns and Mad Libs_?” Seto asked hopefully, and Jou chuckled. Leave it to Seto to remember the name of a book he hadn’t seen since he was a kid.

“Seriously? I just grabbed the first one I saw at the bookstore.”

“That’s the one with the _dragons_ though,” Seto pouted, and Jou laughed again at how young he looked. It was good for Seto to take a break like this, even if it was because he was injured.

“Anyway, there are a couple in here that I thought might be ok. They’ve got ‘Dog’s Point of View’ --we can pretend that’s me if you’d like--” Seto was scowling? Huh, he really did feel bad about his past language--“‘Legendary Creatures,’ and ‘Feline Pharaohs’ if you want to reminisce.”

“‘Legendary Creatures’ sounds the closest,” Seto exhaled, still pouting over the lack of dragon-specific Mad Libs.

“Ok, then I need an adjective,” Jou replied, poising himself with his pencil ready.

“Boring,” Seto immediately replied.

Jou dutifully wrote in the word, frowning a little. “Another adjective.”

“Inconsiderate.”

Jou exhaled. “Really?” he complained as he penciled the word in.

“Plural noun.” 

“Bastards.”

Jou resigned himself to the onslaught. Although, if Seto’s grin was any indication, Jou’s reactions were egging him on and he’d gotten over it long ago.

“Noun.”

“Boot-licker.” 

“Adjective.”

“Mundane.”

“Plural noun.”

They continued like this in rapid fire, Jou no longer judging Kaiba’s deriding word choices and simply writing them on the page. He did give a bit of a pause when Seto’s response for “party of the body” had been “prick,” but rolled with it, deciding that it wasn’t worth a fight. “Ready?” Jou asked as soon as they were finished.

Seto looked more than a bit pleased with himself as he nodded his head.

“ _Throughout time_ ,” Jou read, “ _man has heard boring tales of inconsiderate, mythical creatures that challenge the imagination. Here are the more famous of these bastards_.”

Seto snorted, evidently amused. At least the Mad Libs were doing the job.

“ _The mermaid, half human, half boot-licker, was known to sing mundane songs that caused sailors to crash their jackasses in the middle of Hell_.”

Seto shrugged as though the words weren’t affecting him, but Jou could tell he was trying hard to keep a straight face. At least Seto’s lack of laughter was making it easier to read.

“ _The unicorn was described as a disappointing horse with a pointy sewer--”_ Jou snorted, but kept reading, _“in the middle of its_ \--” Jou snorted again, gained composure, snorted a third time, and then lost it, giggling hysterically. Seto managed to keep a straight face for only a few more seconds before joining in, laughing steadily, until he stopped, gasping and clutching his side. Oh right, Seto had also bruised his ribs. 

Jou tried to breathe steadily in order to control himself and hopefully help Seto. He cleared his throat. “ _Prick_ ,” Jou finished belatedly, trying to keep his voice level and only partially succeeding. Seto snorted again. “Don’t you dare!” Jou warned, already beginning to laugh again, “You’ll hurt yourself. This was a bad idea.” But it was too late. Both men fell into another fit of giggles, until they both were gasping for breath, and Seto was grasping at his ribcage.

When they finally calmed themselves again, Jou went back to the beginning of the paragraph, forcing himself to reread the sentence in an attempt to get it all in one go. After several restarts to avoid laughter, he managed it: “ _The unicorn was described as a disappointing horse with a pointy sewer--_ ” a snicker, but he kept reading-- “i _n the middle of its prick, a billy-goat beard, a lion’s injury, and unimaginative hooves._ Oh god I made it.” He stopped to breathe and to check on Seto for a minute before restarting. “ _It was believed to bring shriveling luck to those who were fortunate enough to see it._ ”

After a pause, Jou began again. “ _The griffin had the body of an inferno and the head and Kuribohs of an eagle. Legend has it that they guarded treasures of priceless emotions.”_ Now it was Seto’s turn to be unable to hide his amusement. Precious emotions indeed. Jou continued reading, hoping finishing would end Seto’s pain sooner rather than later. _“It is also believed they had the power to make an honorless man see._ The end. Sorry, I didn’t think about your rib cage.”

Seto shrugged, even as he still chuckled through the closing lines of the Mad Lib, clenching his side. “I’m sure I’ll live. Shall we do another?”

Jou stared at him, wide-eyed. “What are you a masochist?” he questioned, unthinking.

“Do I need to answer that?” Seto asked, a pointed look at Jou’s direction causing his partner to blush furiously. “Go ahead. Let’s try the Pharaoh one next.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am messing with Yugioh's timeline. Dark Side of Dimensions has to happen later, after they are adults, instead of as they are graduating high school.
> 
> Screw you canon, I have the keyboard?

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to see sneak peaks of this or any of my other works as I write them, or watch me incessantly reblog memes, check out my tumblr: hergan416.


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